Posted on 12/29/2011 1:28:00 PM PST by TBBT
If Santorum is indeed pulling away from the social conservative tangle that’s kept him, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann stuck near 10% for much of the last two months, it changes the Iowa math considerably: evangelicals may actually coalesce around one candidate, spoiling what looked likely to be a split decision win for Ron Paul or Mitt Romney and raising the possibility that Perry or Bachmann finish poorly enough to end their campaigns. If you want evidence for how real that threat is, check out Perry’s new ad, cut today for Iowa radio:
It’s also, like so many of the developments in this primary campaign, a boon for Romney. Team Romney is playing the long game. His Super PAC is already buying time in South Carolina and continues to savage Newt Gingrich on airwaves everywhere, despite the former Speaker’s precipitous Iowa decline. Gingrich has shown potential in later states and remains a threat, even if an ever-shrinking one. Now Santorum is siphoning his supporters. And if Santorum cuts Perry down in Iowa, Romney doesn’t have to worry about a late advertising onslaught from the only candidate who’s ever come close to big-league competition in fundraising. Santorum has neither the money–he’s only just now scrambling to buy up his first scrap of airtime in New Hampshire–nor the broad appeal to contest later states such as Florida, but the longer he stays in, as with Paul, the more splintered the anybody-but-Mitt factions in those states will become.
(Excerpt) Read more at swampland.time.com ...
I myself initially mocked Santorum running because of the size of that loss. But we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Time is up. It was a horrible year (not just for him) and he was running against the ghost of Casey the lesser’s (sainted for some reason) dead father as much as was running against Casey the lesser himself. That doesn’t mean the loss doesn’t matter but it offers an explanation.
He doesn’t have any money, now. He becomes the new anti-Romney and he’ll get some. All Perry’s money couldn’t by him a clue.
In a general election I’d much rather go with Santorum than
RINO Romney,, Rick “will remind people of Bush” Perry, Newt “so many things I could put here” Gingrich or Ron “Kookoo for Cocoa Puffs” Paul.
but it is still one state - one day - two polls or maybe 3. In fact, not even one state. One part of one political party of one small state.
FTR, I never worried about his loss to Casey. That was an unwinnable campaign for any Republican in that cycle. That’s why getting obsessed over past results can be misleading.
Of course, Rick brought that on himself by bragging about past election successes too. So while I don’t think that loss is relevant at all, it is a self inflicted wound.
He sided with Specter because he has integrity. Specter went full throttle for Santorum in 1994 and 2000 which no doubt helped him win fairly close races. To have not backed Specter when Specter then needed his help would have required a complete lack of integrity. If a man having integrity “breaks your heart” that’s pretty sad.
I don't really remember the 94 primary so I can't say one way or the other, but Specter was not really around for the 2000 primary. I wouldn't be faulting Santorum for endorsing Specter in the general. I'm faulting him for endorsing Specter over a genuine conservative in his party's primary.
After the Specter/Toomey primary Santorum went out of his way in Catholic publications to defend his decision to sit on a stage with Specter. His reason was not "I owed Arlen", it was Arlen has a better chance in the general.
Since they have nearly equal conservative ratings, but Santorum has a clean-cut picturesque family man image, whereas Newt has a reputation as a two-faced slimeball, it's pretty clear to me which one should drop out.
The freepers constantly bashing Santorum for endorsing Specter also seem to be forgetting ALL the presidential candidates this cycle have endorsed odious RINOs as well, many of whom were even WORSE than Specter. Newt's fans would have us believe that its unacceptable to endorse Specter but just fine and dandy for their guy to endorse this thing for Congress:
” whereas Newt has a reputation as a two-faced slimeball “ ... with a Chester Cat Smile who can’t be trusted.
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